If you blinked you missed it.

WXLO lasted only nine years as a rock radio station, taking those calls after WOR-FM dropped them in the fall of 1972. WOR-FM had become of the first FM stations in the U.S. to adopt a rock format - by 1967 they were being consulted by Bill Drake. Their basic sound didn't change much with the flip to WXLO five years later.

WXLO rebranded as "99-X" in the fall of 1974. They became "FM 99 WXLO" in 1979, and by late 1980 had evolved into a soft AC format. On August 1, 1981 (coincidentally the same day MTV launched) the calls changed to WRKS under a urban format.

The Rick Shaw heard on this aircheck is one of at least three who used that moniker during the Top 40 era. Richard B. Shaw spent most of his career in Atlanta, including 22 years at WSB. Jim Hummell used the Rick Shaw name during a career spent mostly in Miami. The Rick Shaw on this aircheck jocked at leading stations like KILT Houston, KLIF Dallas, KFRC San Francisco and both WOR-FM and its successor WXLO New York.

Enjoy Rick Shaw with Part 1 of WXLO's "Top Hits of 1973" (UNSCOPED) here.

Enjoy Rick Shaw with Part 1 of WXLO's "Top Hits of 1973" (SCOPED) here.

(The Joe Fazio Collection)